In its international development efforts, the US sends more than a billion dollars’ worth of food assistance across the world. America’s food aid shipments sometimes spoil, resulting in food going to waste where it could be most needed. A group of researchers at MIT may have found a way to save over $10 million while feeding thousands of the world’s poorest people.

Shipping agricultural commodities like grains and legumes to the developing world raises considerable challenges for the nation’s food assistance programs. Procurement officials need to know when to ship, where, and when the food is expected to arrive. After all, food can—and all too often does—spoil.

The researchers from MIT’s Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation have found that much of the loss is potentially preventable. Now, they have embarked on a pilot project to improve the way America aids the world.